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The front of Hanitranirina’s natural juice store in the Ambohipo district of Antananarivo is empty. It’s the season for soursop and pomegranate, which her customers are fond of, but the young woman (who did not wish to give her last name) is unable to meet demand. In one month, she was forced to throw a hundred bottles in the trash, unable to keep them cool. The result of the intense wave of load shedding (power cuts) suffered since December by customers of Jirama, the national water and electricity company in Madagascar.
“For three days, we’ve only had one to one and a half hours of power. Before, there were daily cuts for about five or six hours. I barely earn 10% of the profits I should be making”, laments Hanitranirina, her baby in her arms. She points to the four refrigerators and one freezer in her shop: “I also stopped making ice cream, I was throwing away too much. I’m sad and frustrated, because I have to pay the monthly bill of the Jirama, which amounts to 800,000 ariary [environ 177 euros]. I have lots of questions about how to pay these bills if this continues. I don’t want the activity to be suspended. »
In an adjacent street, Frédéric Rico, owner of the neighborhood cybercafé, also suffered repeated breakdowns. ” We lost 40% of the clientele. he sighs. At home, the Internet connection via a computer costs 20 ariary per minute. ” I am very disappointed with the Jirama, because my business is completely dependent on electricity, whether for photocopiers or internet connection. Instead of satisfying customers, we spend our time chatting or going for a walk while waiting for the power to return. » This cybercafé employs four people full time. ” I have managed to pay them so far, but I don’t know how long I will be able to do so”, concludes Frédéric Rico, resigned.
“We’re slowing down”
Load shedding is a recurring problem in Madagascar. But they have worsened since the fire which affected, on January 2, the largest hydroelectric power station in the country, in Andekaleka, 150 km east of the capital. The dam provides 50% of Antananarivo’s electricity. The President of the Republic, Andry Rajoelina, quickly went to the scene of the accident and castigated – without giving evidence – a ” criminal fire “.
“We are dependent on several old and poorly maintained infrastructures”, recognizes Andry Heriniaina Ramaroson, the Minister of Energy, Water and Hydrocarbons, supervising Jirama: “The facilities of the state company date from 1982. They drop one after the other. Since January 2, Andekaleka no longer produces anything. » The torrential rains caused by storm Ana at the end of January did not help matters. Some 600 electric poles were knocked down, according to the minister, who expects a return to normal by the end of February, the time that the company’s technicians install thermal groups.
In the meantime, the power cuts are also having repercussions on large companies in Antananarivo, where most of the country’s industrial activity is concentrated. ” We’re slowing down.” deplores Olivier Cua, president of the company Epsilon, which specializes in the manufacture of technical clothing for professionals: ” We work with generators, but they consume a lot and fuel oil is much more expensive [3 400 ariary le litre, soit 0,75 euro] than electricity. Cuts also damage sewing machines, which are expensive and need to be replaced. »
” We have no visibility on the sequence of events”, regrets Thierry Rajaona, head of the Madagascar Business Group (GEM): ” Some employees are furloughed to work only during hours when there is electricity. All companies are destabilized, regardless of their size. »
A company on life support
Discontent is rumbling within the population, already very tested for two years by the Covid-19 and the restrictive measures taken to curb the epidemic. Several demonstrations by users have taken place in the capital and its surroundings in recent weeks. Friday, January 28, the inhabitants of Ivandry, an affluent district of Antananarivo, took to the streets to protest. The day before, it was the students of the Polytechnic School of Vontovorona who demanded the restoration of electricity.
The dilapidated state of the network contrasts with the presidential promises of Andry Rajoelina, who had pledged to improve the country’s electrification. The Head of State forecast an access rate of 25% in rural areas and 53% in urban areas in 2023 (against 13% and 44% respectively in 2019), according to the latest version of the Madagascar Emergence Plan, dated October 2021.
According to data available on the website of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Jirama received 866 billion ariary (around 192 million euros) in subsidies in 2020 alone. “It’s fine to subsidize, but it’s not sustainable in the long term. Donors have been infusing Jirama for ten years, without results”, underlines Ketakandriana Rafitoson, director of Transparency International in Madagascar. According to her, “the money could have been used to finance better access to electricity or to create an energy mix”.